CHAPTER 3: SHAMANIC HEALING PRACTICES IN THE PHILIPPINES

In the previous chapter, it has been noted that the mythical Philippines relied on the babaylan

or katalonan’s help to heal illness. They are intermediaries between the humans and the otherworldly

elements that cause illness. This chapter shall focus on how historians and anthropologists view these

shamans and what are the healing rituals they have practiced.

Philippine shaman nomenclature

Anitos- Spirit of the dead

Enkantos- The fallen angels who dwell on trees, rivers and lakes, rocks, and abandoned houses, they

can be friendly or cruel

Espiritista- One who specializes in healing sick individual

Katalonan- Tagalogs priestess physician and devil’s medium

Baylan- Mandayans priestess physician

Balian- Bicolanos priestess physician

Babailan- Visayans priestess physician

Babaylan’s Sexuality

Before the Spanish intervention in the Philippines, female shamans were more numerous than

the males. In fact, Dr. Zeus Salazar’sAng Babaylan sa Kasaysayan ng Pilipinas coincided that the

babaylans are predominantly women though men can also perform her role, but he has to act like a

woman. Furthermore,as written on Philippine Shamanism and Southeast Asian Parallelsthere is a special

class for male shamans, in this class they have tobehave and function like females.
Historical and Anthropological View

Different historians and anthropologist gave various definitions with the term “babaylan”.

Jocano delineated the term “babaylan” as:

“…a shaman with powers to cure illnesses, to exorcise evil spirits, and to act as medium and

communicator with the spirits, from whom s/he asks favors for the people.” (p. )

On the other hand, Alicia Magos described “babaylan” as:

“... religion-initiated person who has undergone a deep intense religious experience… a folk

therapist, not only of physical ailments but more especially of the mental and emotional stresses

experienced by the individual; a priest who officiates in rites involving the invoking of supernatural

beings… who has a spirit guide whom he can call for assistance as in the case of diagnosing an illness…”

Furthermore, Jaime Veneracion labeled “babaylan” as:

“… were said to be endowed with powers such as the ability to cure the sick and predict the right

time to plant and harvest…”

But according to the book of ZeusA. Salazar (1999), Ang Babaylan sa Kasaysayan ng Pilipinas,

during pre-colonial period, “babaylan” is member of both economic and social hierarchy that involves

datu, panday, and babaylan itself, functions.

Synthetically, the babaylan is a vital member of the Filipino community. Not only does she

embody the ancient Filipino religiosity, but she is also the ultimate healer of illnesses. We previously

noted that sickness, in the Filipino worldview, is directly related to the spirit world, which explains the

duality of her role. Her role is further divided among the following:
A. Babaylan as psychologist

Conferring to Father Demetrio’s The Shaman as a Psychologist, “tambalan” (“babaylan” in Leyte)

plays the roles of being a psychologist and psychiatrist in his community. Father Demetrio hypothesized:

“… first, the shaman is a psychologist (a) on the account of his knowledge of the mind, and of

mental states and processes, or, which, amounts to the same thing, because of his knowledge of human

nature; (b) because he is a person especially sensitive to the influence and forces that are extraordinary;

or, because he is psychic, even a mystic in a raw; and (c) because he was a psychiatrist in preliterate

society, in that he practiced the healing of mental diseases.”[p. 8]

In other words, the shaman knows the human mind very well. The shaman is a sage on the

nature of the mental processes, and this knowledge dramatically helps him in diagnosing the root cause

of the patient’s illness. The shaman can sense the intangible forces that bring suffering to the afflicted.

B. Babalyan as astrologist

According to Salazar (1999), the “babaylan” forecasts the right time to clear the forests and sow

the seeds for good harvest. He or she gets her predictions by reading the stars. He or she is also the one

who states the time for harvesting. The babaylan, having a deep knowledge on what constellations

appear during the times of sowing and reaping, also relied on the stars to read the fate of people, which

are feats of an astrologist.

C. Babaylan as Mythologist and literature keeper

Babaylan officially preside the spread of within their barangay or bayan. The said mythology has

three levesl :

1. Ang mundo ng kalangitan

2. Ang mundo ng lupa

3. Ang daigdig sa kailaliman.

These three levels havesignificance in agriculture they have to be absolutely matched in order to

maintain a peaceful accordance. Moreover, mythology is their basic form of literature wherein it

functions as pamanang kulturanowadays such as mythology related to Bathala of Tagalogs or songs to

Gugurang of Bicolanos, and Lamg-ang songs of Ilocano.

The Making of Babaylan

To be a shaman is not easy as flipping ones finger, it takes passing through the hole of needle. It
is like today, before we can call a “doctor” a “doctor” he/ she should undergo a lot of in the field of
medicine and pass licensure exam, same thing goes with becoming a babaylan. Those candidates need
to endure various traditional ceremonies. Virtually the spirits call their candidates through various ways:

A. By talent or inborn

1. a sudden fit of trembling and insanity or near insanity;

2. mysterious illness followed by appearances by the spirits;

3. through visions, trance, or dreams;

4. or harrowing experiences like being lost in the woods amidst wild animals or being hit by a
lightning.

On Maria Milagros Geremaica-Lachica’s Panay’s Babaylan: The Male Takeover being a babaylan

is a gift to the person chosen by the spirit. This choice is manifested in dreams, visions, trance, a

lingering illness or strange events happening to the chosen one. And, according to Asian Studies, it is

called “calling” which happened came from the ancestors, gods and natural spirits. The bad thing about

“calling” is, pursuing it, is the only choice you have. Indeed refusing means opposing provision and sign

of disrespecting the ancestors, gods and natural spirits. Once you attempt to refuse it, series of

unfortunate events will happen to you, worse to your entire relatives.

B. By Acquisition

However, there are some who have not received the “calling.” In some cases, candidates were trained
to become a full babaylan. Based on Rebecca Titson’s book, TheTambalans of Nothern Leyte, they have
to surpass the following procedures:

1. Mentorship

An aged babaylan choses his/ her prodigy through his/ her commitment and interest in
becoming a babaylan.

“There are also cases when the aged tambalan looks for a successor and prospective
tambalans for the sake of proliferating the group. The candidates are usually chosen on the basis of
their interest and commitment. The chosen tambalan is trained personally by the calling
tambalan. He prepares and inures him with the legends, beliefs, and cultures of the tambalan. The
calling tambalan takes the candidate into his personal custody and teaches him the ABC’s of the
primitive healing profession.” (pp19)

2. Initiation:

After the candidate learned the ABC’s of becoming a babaylan, he/ she then, will go the next
procedure, which is the initiation. It is the route of being formally accepted as a member of the group.
As Jocano concludes, in order to become a babaylan, one needs to have a long thread of patience for it
requires masteryand familiarization with all of the techniques and healing. Titson (1983) elaborated the
process of the initiation.

“Almost all tambalans (babaylan in Leyte) undergo an initiation in one form or another. This is to orient
them and make them realize the burdens and boons of being a tambalan. Contacts with the spirits which
most often turn out as harrowing experiences can be considered an initiation. Those who are chosen by
another tambalan also have their own initiation under the guidance of the calling tambalan.

An initiation is often done under a group of folk healers. The spirits most of the time leave this
task to them. But sometimes the spirits handle the initiation themselves especially if the spirit personally
wants the guide the healing work of the chosen tambalan…” (pp20- 21)
Initiation is then followed by apprenticeship. Merriam-Webster dictionary defined apprenticeship as a
person who learns a job or skill by working for a fixed period of time for someone who is very good at
the job or skill. Nowadays, it can be compared to internship.